This book was so incredible. If you liked The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, Looking for Smoke goes hand in hand as another novel where a teen girl has to figure out what is happening in her community. Looking for Smoke follows Mara Racette, recently moved to the Blackfeet Rez in Browning, Loren Arnoux, whose older sister went missing three months earlier, Brody Clark, who has a crush on Loren and the joker of their friend group, and Eli First Kill, whose biggest concern is his younger sister. During Indian Days weekend, Loren’s family honors the memory of her grandfather by doing a giveaway, and soon afterward Samantha White Tail, Loren’s best friend, is found murdered. The FBI gets involved because unlike with Rayanne’s disappearance, there is a body and a chance for the agent on the case to pretend like he cares.

One of the elements I really loved (as much as it breaks my heart) is how much we’re shown the justice system is broken and doesn’t care about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Relatives (MMIWG2S). The community doesn’t trust law enforcement to care and put any real effort into solving the case; they just want to close the case, which isn’t the same thing. We also see all kinds of ripple effects within the community as distrust is capitalized on and information comes to light.

These four teens are all so complex and dealing with multiple situations. Eli was honestly my favorite character in the book because he cares so deeply for his sister, Cherie, and is so obviously one of those people who burns the candle at both ends to protect her and keep her as happy as he can in the situation they’re in. I really enjoyed all the complexity of the characters and the different ways they came at their efforts in solving the murders of Rayanne and Samantha.

The mystery kept me guessing and was so messy in the end! That final chapter is such a doozy, and putting all the pieces together…woah! This was truly so amazing and a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time. I look forward to more from K.A. Cobell!

Wow! This own voices debut is well-written, tightly plotted, and includes POVs often missing from the publishing world, making it an absolute must-read!

Mara and her parents have just moved back to the Blackfeet Reservation and the close-knit local teens are resistant to welcome Mara into their friend group. When the sister a local missing girl honors Mara at a traditional pow-wow giveaway ceremony, Mara is shocked but excited to be included. Unfortunately, at the pow-wow, another local girl is found murdered and Mara and her family become persons of interest. The other giveaway recipients include 3 local teens who Mara teams up with to solve the murder and clear their names. Told between 4 POVs, this book weaves grief, betrayal, and morally grey characters together into a page-turning mystery that captivated my attention. The author sheds light on Blackfeet culture, reservation life, poverty, drug use/trafficking, and the crisis of violence indigenous women face.

Readers who enjoyed classics such as The Firekeeper's Daughter and There There need to add this one to your TBR. I cannot wait to see what the author releases next!

This novel is phenomenal. It sheds light on many issues not readily heard or talked about in a subtle and organic way. It never felt like it was hitting you over the head with those issues and situations. The idea of wrapping this in a murder mystery is brilliant because it reaches a much wider audience and the plot itself does not disappoint. I could not put this book down and very much enjoyed the characters, the writing and what it taught me.

I liked the writing and the story. It was fast-paced and depressing. I liked the mixed media elements. I didn't see the ending coming.

This was like a Holly Jackson book but if it was based in Native American culture.

Even when I thought I knew the twist and what the end was going to be, I was literally so shocked by it. The last chapter???? Oh my god. Especially for this being a debut novel, this was absolutely amazingly written.

This book also touches on an important but often forgotten about problem of MMIW (missing/murdered indigenous women). The attention that this brings to that alone is wonderful, and the way it is executed thought the book in multiple instances is so impactful.

Overall, I think absolutely everyone needs to read this, especially anyone who is a fan of Holly Jackson-esc YA thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy!

This book had too many POVs it was hard to follow the main character when I couldn’t really tell which one was the main one. The writing style also just wasn’t for me, it felt very cringy and forced. Not my read but someone else might enjoy it more.

Looking for Smoke is a hard, but very good read. The story, while fiction, centers around the very real epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Looking for Smoke is set in the Blackfeet community, told from the perspective of four adolescents who have been impacted by missing or murdered friends and/or family.

Loren’s sister, Rayanne, is missing and has been for three months. They assume she’s dead, but hang onto a whisper of hope. From the vantage of Loren, and those closest to her, the police haven’t done nearly enough to find her sister.

Three months after Rayanne’s disappearance, her friend Samantha is found strangled at a powwow. Mara, a recent transplant to the community is among those who find Samantha’s body. As Mara struggles to process the trauma, she feels compelled to connect with Loren and try to support her.

Eli and Brody are their friends. Mostly. Eli is both social and a loner. Eli spends a lot of time at home caring for his younger sister. We know he’s hiding a secret, but not what it is. Brody is super social, a bit of a goofball, and one of Eli’s best friends. Along with Loren, the group grew up side-by-side on the reservation. Mara struggles with where to fit in.

Unsettled and uncertain that the authorities are working to find Rayanne (alive or dead) or Samantha’s killer, the teens take matters into their own hands. They’re also each questioned—and it’s an important note how Eli, especially, is presumed guilty for a time based on flimsy evidence. It’s an another example of racism and not caring enough about what happens in indigenous communities. The mystery unfolds, detailing trauma after trauma, whether it’s by the community, their tribal police, the state police, or one another. It’s sad, and like I said at the outset, heavy. And it also feels important.

It’s a slow read. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it. Sometimes I lost track of whose voice/perspective I was reading, but overall I really liked this book. Highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an epic read! With intensity within the characters, deep rooted culture, and searing mystery, this book captured me at the first chapter! What a fabulous debut. The author’s not was incredibly insightful, too. Love a good author’s note.

Mara, new to town, has been invited to a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway honoring Loren’s missing sister. Feeling like an outsider among this tight knit group, she is hoping to make some friends.

Instead, Mara and the rest of the group are persons of interest when another girl, Samantha goes missing, considering they were the last known people to see her.

Now, Mara, Loren, Brody, and Eli are grappling with accusations, grief, betrayal along with everything else. Each of them had their own interactions with Samantha White Tail, some not great, and seeing how this story unfolded was remarkable.

I am a huge fan of in depth characters and this book really showcases that, while still keeping you rooted to this bigger mystery. All the way to the very last page, I was on the edge of my seat. Immersed in Blackfeet culture and pride, this was a wonderful, thrilling read that I highly recommend!

3.5 stars rounded up-Looking For Smoke hits on the disappearances of indigenous girls and the lack of awareness and response to the problem. Loren’s sister has been missing for months with no new leads on her case until another indigenous girl is murdered during a Blackfeet Giveaway Ceremony. Now everyone is a suspect and the friends don’t know who to trust. The story unfolds in an unpredictable mystery with a twisted ending. At times I felt the story was a little dragged out but the characters leave an impression and the message is an important one. I would read this author again. My voluntary, unbiased, and non mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

Looking for Smoke is a compelling mystery that highlights the lack of attention paid to murdered and missing indigenous women. I really enjoyed this book--the only issue I had was that it started slow for me, which I think was due to the 4 POVs and just needing time to settle in with each of those. I think my high school students will enjoy this book and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who liked The Firekeeper's Daughter. The multiple POVs also make it a good book for teen readers--they are a good mixture of characters who are easy to root for and characters who are a little suspicious at times. I will definitely be adding a copy to my classroom library!

I LOVED this book. Cobell has carefully developed an intense mystery that unfolds at a perfect pace and includes characters who are complex and flawed and sympathetic; but more importantly, she unveils life on the Blackfeet Nation Reservation from the perspective of teens who must deal with not only a complicated and rich history of their ancestors, but with the much too common crises of missing peers/family members. From the rituals and ceremonies to the poverty and broken-yet-strong families, the glimpse of life on the reservation is eye-opening. Perhaps most important is that the author brings to light the silence and oppression of the lives and stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) and their families, friends, and communities. Looking for Smoke deserves awards, but, more than that, it deserves to be in the hands of every young person in our country.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, Heartdrum, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this amazing book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and KA Cobell for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Looking for Smoke coming out June 4, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I read the description for this book and knew I would love it! The writing is amazing and the story is definitely one that needs to be told. I don’t think the topic about missing and murdered Indigenous teens is talked about enough. This book feels like the TV show Reservation Dogs and the movie Wind River. The themes of the book were serious and dark, but there was also some lightness to break it up. I loved the themes of honoring culture and heritage. One character was half-white and didn’t feel as connected to others on the Blackfeet reservation. One character had to give up dance to support his family. The book is told by different points of view, so it just felt very authentic and real. I loved all of it! I would definitely check out more books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Indigenous stories!

This was definitely an eye opener for me to know that MMIW is a thing that gets overlooked and doesn’t acquire the media attention and this book definitely shows that. Now for this story I definitely was hooked and couldn’t put the book down to solve the murder mystery. I loved every minute of this story and so happy for Mara.

While I enjoyed this book, the pace was slower than I expected. Characters were well developed, and the author did keep you guessing as to who the killer was. The end, however, was very abrupt. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Important issues are addressed (missing and murdered indigenous women), and for that fact, this is a book that needs to be read. This is a solid YA mystery.

I enjoyed another YA mystery thriller about indigenous teens, Firekeeper's Daughter, but I have to say I liked this one even more. The characters were written very vividly and you became attached to them. I really thought I had figured out who the murderer was but yep, my prediction skills suck, so I was wrong of course. I also loved the setting near Glacier National Park. May is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Month and this book has a lot to do with this sad and underreported topic, so I would highly recommend reading it.

Looking for Smoke blew me away. I loved this book- well written, developed plot line, developed characters, and great twists. I wish the ending was a little more written out, but overall this book touched on a lot of socio-economic issues, and it really shed light on the issues of missing and endangered indigenous women. I will definitely be recommending this to others.

I finished reading LOOKING FOR SMOKE at least a month ago, if not more. It has stayed with me; in fact, I probably think about it every day. Author K.A. Cobell does an exquisite job of mixing mystery, unreliable narrators, love, community, and emotion. LOOKING FOR SMOKE does not seem like a debut novel at all--from page one, I knew I was in a confident writer's hands and I was impressed by the lyrical writing as well as the well developed characters. I was especially taken by the distinctive voices of the four characters--Loren, Mara, Brody, and Eli. They all had specific ways of viewing and interpreting their world as well as their own actions. I was invested in the story throughout and found myself holding out hope for several things even though I had a feeling things might not go the way I wanted.

The most moving section and the images that still haunt me are Loren's jingle dance as she is surrounded by the headlights of her friends' and family's cars. This is the only book of 2024 that's made me cry, which is one of the (many!) reasons I'm declaring this one of my favorite books of 2024, period.

This is a poignant story revolving around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and the Indigenous experience (in this case, Blackfeet) as a whole. While it's not all encompassing - experiences will vary, and the story itself is fictional - I felt like it highlighted the crisis in an important and respectful way.

I also felt highly immersed in the "Indian Days" festival and the experiences each of the teens have living on the reservation.

I loved the story from the mystery and the twists to the sense of connection and sense of self. However, I found four points-of-view to be a bit much to manage at times, five if you include the "unknown" and podcast sections. For me, it caused some confusion, information overlapping that led to lagging, and pacing issues in a few spots.

Overall, I highly recommend. This is easily one of my favorite reads of 2024.

CWs: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), drug addiction, death, death of an animal, violence

This book was incredibly written. The topic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) was handled really well, and the author did an excellent job of conveying the characters emotions.
The story is told through 4 first-person POVs, Mara, Brody, Loren, and Eli, along with an occasional Unknown POV. I liked the mystery of the unknown POV and the inclusion of the podcast during those pages. The other 4 POVs switched seemingly at random, but it worked really well. I didn’t have any trouble keeping the characters straight, and I liked the time being included to help figure out when things were happening.
I thought the 4 characters were well written, and they were interesting and flawed. Loren is already struggling with the disappearance of her sister when her best friend is found murdered. Her rage at the world was understandable, and her drive to find the truth about Rayanne and Samantha was pushed by her own fears for herself and the girls and women around her. Eli was my favourite, and I liked how he had his walls up but he allowed himself to be vulnerable in certain situations. He was stubborn, but also loyal and his love for his sister was amazing. Brody’s loyalty to his brother was admirable, but he annoyed me at times with his jokes. He was a good character to contrast with the heaviness that Eli and Loren carried around. Mara was fantastic, and as an outsider to this friend group she saw things that the others missed in some of the dynamics.
I thought the pacing was really good, and the story was balanced really well. There were lots of moments of sadness and grief, but also moments of joy, culture, love and laughter. I flew through it and didn’t want to put it down. Overall I thought it was an amazing story, and it’s one that will stick with me for a while.

4.5 stars, rounded up
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What. A. DEBUT. Looking for Smoke is a YA thriller that incorporates the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. Tagged for fans of Angeline Boulley, I had a feeling I would enjoy this one and I was not disappointed.

The concept of the book was really good and the execution was even better. Across four POVs, we follow the connected murders of two indigenous girls and the race to find their killer. This plot really highlights the epidemic of MMIW and incorporates important statistics about the movement in the ideal way. The stats are so important and really highlight the issue without taking away from the plot. They were such a vital part of the book. The author’s note further highlights these facts and I learned so much more than I knew already.

I found myself attached to this story. I was constantly on my toes, trying to figure out the killer before the end. There are twists and turns all along the way and just when you think you know what’s going on, you figure out you were so wrong. There were a few plot points I would have loved to see elaborated, but that was just a me thing. Everything important is fully wrapped up by the ending. There was great world building in this, too. Despite it being a contemporary novel, the establishment of life on the reservation was so helpful in grasping aspects of the book that otherwise could have been foreign to the reader.

As I am not indigenous, I cannot and will not comment on the portrayal of culture in the book.

The characters were so well written. They were relatable, their grief was so real. I found myself easily knowing who was narrating each character by tone and motivation, which is so important in a book with so many POVs. I found each narrator important to the overall story, and the use of all the narrators really helped get all angles of the plot.

This is the first book in a long time that has actually brought tears to my eyes by the end. It’s raw, emotional and gripping. This is absolutely a must read.